In love just as in business, interest is great, but desire is even better! Liking something on Facebook is manifesting interest, period. In the buying process, “wanting” means the start of a more formal commitment in the sales cycle. And according to recent industry rumors, Facebook will test the “Want” button, which is to be introduced soon as an application.
The “Want” button
It has been shown that various retailers like Victoria’s Secret are currently testing on their Facebook pages the buttons “Want,” “Collect” or “Like” for products from their catalog. This would take the buying experience even further, from a simple appreciation (“Like”) to a future action (“Want”). That just about says it all. A buying decision starts with a desire for something.12
On a personal level, it’s interesting to know what our family and friends want. With the holidays approaching, knowing the “Wants” of your Facebook friends could be useful when it comes to ideas for presents. The same goes for B2B.
On a professional level, keep in mind that Facebook recently went public. Stockholders have expectations and put pressure on the company (because it is indeed a company) to make profits based on initiatives that favor e-commerce.
Canadian Facebook population
Lastly, to satisfy your curiosity, here is an order of magnitude of the Facebook population and its national penetration rate in September 2012.
Canada: 13th highest Facebook adoption rate
Number of Facebook accounts in Canada: 18,564,500, which is the equivalent of 55% of the country’s population, or 71% of Canadian internet users. Roughly, the penetration rate by Canadian city can be broken down by: Ottawa 57%, Montreal 38%, Vancouver 36.5% and Toronto 32%.3
Definitely to be closely monitored!
